Pest Advice Blog

What is IPM?

Pest removal needs to follow a selection of guidelines to help protect people and the natural environment. IPM is a strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or the damage created by the creatures or steps in controlling them. This is why it’s important to not take pest control problems into your own hands. Not following guidelines can have permanent impacts on people’s health and the natural environment.

IPM stands for integrated pest management.

Basically it’s a broad-based approach integrating practices for economic control of pests. It tries to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level. So, it controls the level of pest infestation where the cost of further reducing the population overtakes additional revenue or value of other benefits. The value of saving one human life is more than the cost of terminating the pests.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation defines IPM as “the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.”

IPM is used in agriculture, horticulture, human habitations, preventive conservation and general pest control. There are six components in an American IPM system.

Acceptable pest levels where the emphasis is on control not termination.

Preventive cultural practices selecting strategies best for local growing conditions.

Monitoring is regular observation through visual inspection, insect and spore traps and other methods.

Mechanical controls when a pest population reaches an overwhelming level.

Biological controls are the natural processes and materials with minimal environmental impact.

Responsible use being conscious of the dangers of chemicals to pests and nature.

Sudbury pest removal.

If you discover any evidence of rodent or insect infestation make sure to contact professionals to responsibly remove and prevent any problems. Call Truly Nolen Pest Control.